A Thousand Years
by Casatya
Summary: One minute she was packing for college, and the next a human Caroline Forbes is waking up a thousand years ago, sent to the past to prevent the creation of vampires. Nothing could have prepared her for meeting a human Niklaus Mikaelson, who is far from the hybrid she knew. "Magic made him a vampire, not a monster. Perhaps if I'm by his side... he will never become one."
1. 10th Century: The Original Grief

**Hello everyone! I came up with this idea a few days ago and couldn't wait to put it up on FanFiction I really hope you guys like the story and I'll be updating this regularly along with my other Vampire Diaries stories. Please let me know what you all think. Marianna xx**

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Chapter 1: The Original Grief

_The last thing Caroline Forbes remembered was that she had been packing for college._

_Now, she was dreaming of a village on the outskirts of the forest. Houses were scattered all around the edges of the trees. There were no people about, just the darkness of the night and the full moon in the sky._

_A wolf howled._

_Caroline froze. A werewolf? She tried to run but found she couldn't move at the speed she wanted, only a human pace._

_"It won't hurt you." A voice behind her said._

_"Esther?" She recognized the woman she had seen at the ball, the mother of the Original Vampires. The one who had tried continuously to murder her own children._

_"The one and only." She said before directing the conversation back to the wolf. "This is merely a dream which I am in control of. The wolf will come nowhere near us." Esther walked closer to some of the houses. "On the night of a full moon, this is what our village would be like. We deserted it in favor of the caves underground. I believe you know of them, of course your uses for them in present day have been much different than shelter from nature."_

_Caroline watched her stare off into the distance, shocked at Esthers sudden appearance. A part of her had decided that there was no way this dream could be real, but another part of her was more open to the clarity in her mind and the manner in which Esther moved and spoke was too real to brush off._

_"You control this dream?" She asked, praying for it to not be real. I'll wake up soon, she thought._

_"Yes. I'm pushing myself over from the otherside at the moment. It is easier to make a connection to the living, or in your case undead, when you are asleep. Your mind is more open to influences in that state. And I suppose you want to know why I brought you here?"_

_"Um yeah. It's not very often some thousand year old dead witch decided to invade my dreams." Caroline said, her nerves causing her to speak much faster than usual. None of Esthers appearances had meant anything good for anyone but herself, and if they hadn't stopped her, Caroline would be on the otherside now herself because Klaus would be long dead._

_"Just because I've returned to the otherside once more, doesn't mean I'm free from the duty I have to nature." Esther came back over to Caroline, staring directly into her eyes. "The horrors my family have causes have been spread over a thousand years and more torment and horror will touch the earth if they are allowed to continue to exist. Even with the formation of the white oak stake, I do not see them being defeated anytime soon, so I am asking you for your help."_

_"And why would I help you? If Klaus dies, I die too. If you're looking for someone to rally to your cause then you've asked the wrong person."_

_"In the present day, you will die if Klaus dies, however I'm focusing my efforts on a different time. I've been given the power of thousands of witches on the other side for this spell. If someone was able to prevent my family from becoming Vampires, much of the torment on the Earth would never have existed."_

_"How do you know if you kill you stop them from becoming Vampires that the Earth won't change dramatically."_

_"It won't. I wouldn't be able to harness the power of the witches if we didn't know what the changes would be. You might not understand it, but vampires have never done any good to this Earth and without them, humanity will be able to flourish in a way that they weren't able to when my children existed." Esther said._

_"I don't understand this..." Caroline was convinced this witch was crazy. Even if this wasn't some magical, otherside induced dream, it was still making her incredibly uncomfortable. She willed herself to wake up, pinching herself at the same time yet still she remained in the dream._

_"I began this dream Caroline and only I can release your from it." Esther said. "I'm sending you back to the time when my family were humans. My daughter Rebekah, if she had not become a vampire she would have been a witch. I'm using the powers of the other side to lock onto her magical powers to pull you through time."_

_"Wait, what?" Caroline pulled away from Esther, trying to turn and run, but the witches control over the dream prevented movement._

_"You will listen to me Caroline. Two weeks after the death of my youngest son Henrik, I turned my family into Vampires. Prevent this from happening, let them live out their lives as humans and live yours out along side them. When you die you will be returned to your own time. There will be changes there, but you will not know of them. I'll leave you with no memory of it."_

_"This is crazy! You can't just change the entire world to rid it of your children! And I'm a vampire. You can't just stick a vampire smack bang in the middle of a thousand years ago if you're trying to prevent it." She yelled. She tried to hide it but Caroline was terrified._

_"You won't be a vampire. As vampires do not exist in that time the magic I'm using will be unable to sustain you in that form. You will be human, and when you return to your own time - only after ensuring the human lives of my children - you will also be human." Esther stated, as if this was all obvious._

_"Well I don't speak witch. How was I supposed to know?" Caroline hissed._

_"You know now, and you're ready to go. When you wake you'll be in this village. Complete your task and you can return."_

_"And what if I don't?"_

_"Then I will be unable to help you return. But listen to me Caroline. I know you may think it foolish of me, but so many people you know have suffered at the hands of vampires. Your friends Elena, Bonnie, Tyler and Matt. Elena's aunt Jenna. Your mother spends all her waking hours protecting your town from a threat that you can prevent. Remember that." Her voice grew dim and Caroline found the world around her growing darker until a veil was pulled over her eyes and black took over._

* * *

"Caroline?" A voice whispered.

"Caroline!"

Her eyes shot open and she hurried to get up. She'd been asleep on the cold ground of a cave. Caroline ran her hand along the side of her face, cool from the rocks, with their indentation pressed on her skin. She turned to the source of the voice.

Her mother?

Except that it wasn't the mother that she knew. Then again, she didn't know what mother she should know. Her mind was a mess.

"The wolves have returned to men and then sun hangs in the sky. It's safe to return home." The woman said, reaching out a hand to help her up. Caroline took it, still momentarily confused, feeling completely disorientated. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She said hurriedly, feeling crazy, trying to remember why she couldn't remember anything around her. There was a complete blank in her mind.

"You don't look well child. You shall rest some more before you help me with the work today. Come."

The woman, her mother, led her out of the caves. There were other people there, packing up from what seemed to be a night spent there, but Caroline could not for the life of her remember exactly why. All she had to go by was her mothers explanation, but the idea of men turning into wolves seemed laughable to her, yet almost familiar, as though it was something she'd heard before, but she couldn't fathom who told her of such things.

They stepped out into the daylight, and into the middle of nowhere, walking along the edge of a forest, following the lines of the trees. Caroline wanted to ask how long it would take to get home, or wherever they were going, but she kept her mouth shut, not wanting to appear crazy.

After about ten minutes of walked, they came to the start of a village, with houses and animals scattered all around. Their house wasn't too far into the village. Her mother walked inside, but Caroline stayed out, examining the area which seemed familiar, but at the same time she was looking at it with eyes that hadn't truly seen it before.

"Caroline? Are you alright?"

"Ah yes, I'm fine." She muttered. "I'm sorry, I just need some air. The caves can be a little smothering. I think I'll just walk it off." Caroline hurried away before her mother could say anything, heading further into the village, taking careful note of where she came from, to make sure she made it back to the house. A few people greeted her, and though she did not know them she smiled back, not wanting to give any a reason to think something was wrong. She just kept walking until she was closer to the back of the village, where the houses grew less, welcoming the lack of people filling up in the main areas of the village.

There would be less people to witness the battle going on in her mind, struggling to remember what she knew that she should.

"Mother!" A strangled cry cut through her thoughts. She turned to the source of the sound. A man with long dark blonde, almost brown hair, was running into the village with a boy in his arms. Across the boys chest was blood, drying over the claws marks torn through his chest. Caroline gasped at the sight, her stomach turning. "Mother!"

While Caroline stood, watching as the man placed the boy on the ground, people from all around came running to him. A girl with long blonde hair, trailed by a dark skinned woman, stopped dead as she watched the sight. Another man with dark hair ran up to the body of the boy, and an older woman with long blonde hair knelt at his body too, desperate in her actions.

Esther.

Everything came back to her then. There was nothing to remember from this time because she was not meant to be there. Whatever veil had been put over Carolines mind cleared and she could remember everything, from Esthers dream to her whole life in Mystic Falls, the purpose for which she was here.

"You will listen to me Caroline. Two weeks after the death of my youngest son Henrik, I turned my family into Vampires. Prevent this from happening, let them live out their lives as humans and live yours out along side them. When you die you will be returned to your own time. There will be changes there, but you will not know of them. I'll leave you with no memory of it."

The boy on the ground... Henrik. The man who carried him... Klaus. Esther and Elijah beside the body and Rebekah standing nearby, shock written all over her face.

"No. No. What happened?" Esther cried, looking at Klaus. His face was contorted in agony, something Caroline had never seen before on him. He was full of pure grief, such a human emotion, and it surprised her to see it coming from him.

"The wolves." He cried, his words sounded like he had to force them out from his throat. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"We must save him!" Esther said, turning to the dark skinned woman, who touched a hand to the boys cheek. "Please, there must be a way."

"The spirits will not give us a way Esther. Your boy is gone." The woman, who Caroline realized must be a witch, said. That was when the horror of the situation finally took hold of Esthers face as she realized her son was dead.

"No!" She cried out, over and over again, falling onto her sons body while Elijah wrapped him arms around her. Rebekah held onto Klaus, stroking his hair as her own tears fell down from her face.

For a few minutes, Caroline watched their grief. She remembered Elena telling her of the story when Rebekah first shared it however it was one thing to know it happened, and another to witness it herself. It felt like she was intruding and she hurriedly pulled her gaze away from Klaus's face and his grief. No one noticed as she turned away and ran, running back through the village until she reached the house she had been taken to before.

"Caroline? What is wrong?" Her mother asked, standing up as soon as she ran into the house. Perhaps it was the scene she had just witnessed, or the fact the she remembered everything and was now a thousand years in the past from her time, or a combination of both, but Caroline fell into the arms of the mother she didn't remember and began to cry. "Caroline?"

"One of the Mikaelson boys..." She whispered. "Henrik. He was killed by a wolf. I saw the body brought back into the village."

"I didn't know you knew the Mikaelsons." Her mother whispered, a strange sound in her voice.

"I don't mother. Not really. I only know of them but I haven't spoken to them myself." She said, hoping what she was saying wasn't too far from the truth.

* * *

It was only early in the day, but her mother let Caroline retire to her room to rest off the shock of what she had seen. Given the time to compose herself was something she much needed, for the real problem was something much more than the dead boy of the Original family. She sat on the bed in the room, finally having rid herself of her tears, watching the village through the cracks of her closed window. A little bit of sunlight passed through it, landing on her hand, right where she usually wore her daylight ring. It was then that the full extent of everything dawned on her.

There was no ring on her finger but the sun hand't burned her.

"I'm human." She whispered, moving her hand around in front of the sun. She hadn't noticed it before, too caught up in the Original family to be aware of it. Now that she noticed however, she was caught off guard. She hadn't actually been a vampire for that long, however she had almost forgot what it felt like to be human. The absence of the craving for blood was the most obvious difference. There was no fire in her throat for human blood and as a human that felt as good as the craving had when she was a vampire. However, she hadn't exactly wanted to be human again.

If the cure had been handed to her, untouched, she never would have taken it, and yet here she was, human by other means.

Taken from a time that didn't even exist yet, by a witch wanting to prevent the creation of Vampires.

"You will listen to me Caroline. Two weeks after the death of my youngest son Henrik, I turned my family into Vampires."

Esthers words echoed around her mind. Two weeks and she would turn her family into the Original Vampires and somehow wanted Caroline to stop it. Having witnessed the grief of the woman firsthand as she cried over Henrick's body, it seemed impossible to picture her somehow stopping the witch from casting her spell or whatever she did to turn her family.

"How the hell does she even expect me to do this?" She whispered to herself, laying back down on her bed, wondering if Esther had even thought her own plan through. "I don't even know if I want to do this."

And what if she didn't? She would spend her life as a human in this village and vampires would run through the Earth.

Maybe she would even be turned herself.

She wanted to fully work it all out in her mind, which would be the best course of action, but her head was just too scattered from everything that had happened.

One minute she was packing for college and the next she was a thousand years in the past, so instead of working anything out, she just let sleep take her, hoping that maybe she would wake back up in Mystic Falls.


	2. 10th Century: The Brothers

**Thank you everyone for the wonderful response for the first chapter. 45 of you followed this story, which is just wonderful. I can't wait to hear what you guys think of it as more chapters come! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I promise that Chapter 3 will be full of Klaroline action :)**

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Review Responses

seriouslymilaydy - Thank you :) I'm glad you enjoyed the start.  
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_The Hunger Games - My Life - __I'm really glad you like the idea for the plot. I hope you enjoy how everything goes!  
_Pinkgem22 - It is a very hard task, and what will be harder for her is the decision of actually going along with Esthers plan, or doing something else.  
_Guest - _I'm glad you like it! Thank you very much.

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Chapter 2: The Brothers

The next day Caroline was handed a basket containing some food to take to the Mikaelsons to show their condolences. Her mother warned her not to stay too long, only to deliver the gifts and leave. She had been told by Klaus once, around the time Esther had linked them together, that she practiced dark magic, and she had to assume that this was why her mother was nervous about her going.

She wasn't the only one.

Caroline was nervous too at the idea if meeting the Original Family in this life, where they were still humans. She knew that the Esther in the village was not the same Esther that had pulled her to this time, but she was still terrified of the woman.

She had no idea how to convince a grieving woman not to turn her family into vampires, or even if she wanted to.

As nervous as she was about the idea of meeting the human originals, she decided that to meet them and understand them in this life was the only way she would be able to make up her mind about which path to take.

Let Esther turn them into Vampires and set in motion the events that eventually lead to Mystic Falls, or to attempt to stop it.

Despite the fact that she walked in the daylight as a vampire, it was still a little eerie to step outside knowing she didn't have her ring, and that she was human. As she walked to the end of the village where the original family lived, attempting to shake off the weirdness as she went, Caroline put it down to the fact that the eerie feeling in her chest was because she had never wanted to be human. Once she had learned to control herself as a Vampire, there was no way she would ever have willingly gone back to what she was. As a human she was weak, but as a vampire she was powerful and the idea of having a future that could stretch thousands of years was something that she would never admit to anyone else that she craved, but in her mind she knew it was something she truly desired.

As she grew closer to the Mikaelsons, her heart picked up speed and her breathing became shallow, and nervous. She thought about all the times she had interacted with Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah, not so much Finn and Kol, and how they had been vampires at the time, but she could easily say that she was more terrified of them as humans.

Knowing that they had been alive for a thousand years made it difficult to even think of them as humans, yet here she was, about to discover what they were truly like before Esther turned them into Vampires.

Outside a house near her, she caught sight of a familiar face out of the corner of her eye. It was lucky for her, as she actually had no idea which house they lived in, only of where they were based in the village from her experience the day before.

Elijah was standing outside chopping wood, presumably for a fire inside the house.

"Excuse me." Caroline swallowed her nerves and hurried towards Elijah.

"Yes?" He asked, looking up at her. She could tell in his eyes that she was not a familiar face, giving her a clue as to how she should act around him. Behind the confusion, his dark brown eyes were filled with grief at the loss of her brother, such a human thing and Caroline couldn't help but feel her heart go out to him.

"My name is Caroline. I'm from the other side of the village. I brought these for your family." She said, holding out the basket. "My mother sends her condolences for the loss of your brother. I'm so sorry for you and your family."

She imagined that the family must have received many gifts from the other villagers, but Elijah looked genuinely touched by the gesture.

"I'm Elijah. I believe we have not met before but I appreciate the kindness despite that. Thank you very much." He said, looking at the contents of the basket.

"You're welcome." Caroline whispered, turning to take her leave.

"Wait." Elijah grabbed her arm. "Would you like to come inside? It would be rude not to offer your something in return."

Looking at this human Elijah, she could see many of the same qualities in him that the one thousand year old Original Vampire had possessed, however when she looked at him she could still see the hearts of other vampires, werewolves and hybrids in his hand after tearing them out of their chests - his favorite method of killing. She wondered at what point in his immortal life he had turned into that person.

Perhaps his brother had pushed him to that point.

"You are in mourning. There is no possible way that you can be rude to me." She said, not sure why she was so desperate to refuse the invitation, despite the fact Caroline was certain she needed to spend time with them.

"Please." Elijah said. "I insist." He took a step back, opening the door to his home for her.

She relented. "Thank you Elijah."

Elijah escorted her inside, sitting her down at a table while he placed some water over the fire.

"It's just me here at the moment, but I know my family will be very grateful when they see what you have brought. It is very comforting in such times." He said.

"I'm truly sorry." She said, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Thank you Caroline." He said, before deliberately changing the subject. "I haven't seen you around much in the village."

"My mother keeps me busy. There's a lot of work to be done." She said, hoping that was a sufficient enough answer.

Elijah was sympathetic. "My sister Rebekah is always kept busy by our mother, so I am sure that she could relate to your circumstances."

"I'm sure you're very busy too." She replied with a smile.

"I like to think of myself as a hardworking person. I enjoy being able to contribute to something, like my family or the village and the wellbeing of its people, even if it is in the smallest way possible." He said, handing her a steaming cup of what she assumed was tea.

Silence fell over them as they drank. There was not much in the ways of possible conversation unless they wanted to talk about Elijah's dead brother or the weather, which despite a small amount of sunlight was overall a little gloomy. When she finished her cup she placed it carefully on the table and stood up.

"Thank you Elijah, for the tea." Caroline said, heading towards the door. "I would love to stay but my mother will worry if I stay too long."

"Thank you for the company." He said, though Caroline was positive she hadn't been much in the way of good company.

"You are very welcome." She said as he opened the door. "If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to call on me. I'm right at the other end of the village."

Stepping out of the door, Caroline was still partially facing Elijah and hadn't bothered to check the path in front of her, resulting in her running head on into another person, tripping over their feet in the process and almost falling on the ground. Well, she would have if that person hadn't caught her.

"I am so sorry. I should have been watching where I was going." She said, steadying herself and standing up before she could get a good look at the person she smashed into.

"It is okay. I should have been more careful myself." The familiar voice said. Her breath caught in her throat. "I don't believe we have met before. My name is Niklaus."

"Niklaus is my brother." Elijah said, stepping forward. He gave Caroline a once over, making sure she was free of any injury. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you Elijah." Caroline said before forcing her gaze to Klaus. "Caroline." She said, her name a mere whisper.

"Caroline brought us some gifts from her mother." Elijah said, looking at her gratefully.

"Thank you so very much Caroline." Klaus said, his gaze just like Elijah.

"I'm sorry for your loss Kl- Niklaus." She said, hoping he didn't notice the stumble with his name. She was certain that he went only by Niklaus at the time. Nik appeared to be what he was called in the more modern times, before settling on Klaus when they had known each other. There was a moments silence before she broke it by turning back to Elijah. "Thank you again Elijah. I'm sorry for intruding."

"Brother, why don't you walk Caroline home." Elijah said, gesturing to Klaus. Caroline looked at him surprised. "You said yourself that your mother will worry. Niklaus can ensure that no harm comes to you."

She couldn't imagine much harm coming to her in the middle of the village, but Caroline wasn't one to be rude and reject offers. Well, she might have if not for Klaus hurriedly accepting the suggestion.

"Of course. Come, Caroline. I'll escort you home. Consider it thanks for the kindness you have shown to my family." He said, taking a step away from the house, leaving Caroline with little choice but to follow.


	3. 10th Century: Fifteen Minutes

**Thank you everyone for the response to the previous chapter. I can't believe how many people are following this story even just after a few days. It's a really awesome feeling every time I check to see the number going up. 30 more people have followed and the second chapter hasn't even been up 24 hours. I'm sorry this chapter is a little shorter, but finally some Klaroline! The next chapter will be much longer!**

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_karmen238 - Hope you enjoy the update :)  
_ferrylis - Thanks :) Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 3: Fifteen Minutes

_"Brother, why don't you walk Caroline home." Elijah said, gesturing to Klaus. Caroline looked at him surprised. "You said yourself that your mother will worry. Niklaus can ensure that no harm comes to you."_

_She couldn't imagine much harm coming to her in the middle of the village, but Caroline wasn't one to be rude and reject offers. Well, she might have if not for Klaus hurriedly accepting the suggestion._

_"Of course. Come, Caroline. I'll escort you home. Consider it thanks for the kindness you have shown to my family." He said, taking a step away from the house, leaving Caroline with little choice but to follow._

In the few times she had walked from one edge of the village to the other, she has surmised that at the speed they were walking it would take about fifteen minutes. Their village wasn't large by any means, but the houses were generally spread out between the smatterings of stalls, animals and other things.

They'd been walking for about five minutes but there had been nothing but silence between them and Caroline was more than a little hesitant to break it. She had no idea what she could say anyway.

"It was very kind of you to visit my family." Klaus said, looking at the path ahead of them and not at her. "Especially when you don't visit that side of the village much. I think I've only seen you there once or twice."

"My mother keeps me busy." She said, hoping that if the answer was enough for Elijah, that it would also be enough for Klaus.

A slight smile touched his face and he glanced over at her as he spoke. "There is plenty of work to be done these days. I try to work hard so I can appreciate times of resting even more."

Caroline gave a little laugh. "Perhaps the best part of work is that we all get to rest at some point."

"What do you enjoy doing when you rest?" He asked.

Unsure how to answer, she sent the same question back. "Tell me what you like first."

"Me? I like to spend time with my siblings." A brief flicker of sadness touched his face, presumably as he remembered Henrik, however as he caught her eye he pushed it off his face with another smile. "Now you."

"I suppose I like to talk with my mother." She whispered. Of the mother in this world, she wasn't sure if that was true, but when the mother she knew as Liz had accepted her as a vampire they had grown closer than ever. They would sit up into the late hours of the night just talking, something they had never been able to do before. "My father too, before he died."

"You appreciate family." Klaus whispered. As he spoke the word family, there was such gentleness in his voice. It wasn't a tone she was used to, at least not from the Klaus that she knew. The only time she'd ever heard him use it was in a rare moment where he dropped his guard around her. "Do you have siblings?"

"No." She said. "I've always wished for them but I have none."

"There is nothing I can say that I appreciate more than my brothers and sister." He said. Klaus stopped walking as he spoke, lost in the thoughts that came with his words. Caroline stopped beside him, for different reasons.

It was hard to believe that the man in front of her was the same Klaus. Well, no he wasn't. What was truly hard to believe was that Klaus had ever been this kind of person. The Klaus she had known had daggered his siblings on a regular basis. She knew that Finn had been in a coffin for nine hundred years, Kol for at least a century, Rebekah for ninety years. Rebekah and Elijah had gone on to be daggered several times in the time that Caroline knew them alone. Over the centuries she could only assume that they'd spent more time than that in their coffins.

And the person who'd done that to them was beside her, speaking of them in such a tender way.

It was beyond confusing.

"You should always treasure them. No matter what they do in life, remember that they love you as well, and hold onto that." She said, thinking over her words carefully as she spoke. The Klaus she knew, while he probably did care for, or love, his brothers and sister, he didn't show it in the right ways.

"You are very wise Caroline." Klaus said as they continued to walk, approaching her house. Caroline moved a step in front of him to direct.

"I try to be, though sometimes I think I sound silly instead of being wise."

That made him laugh.

"I don't believe that." He said as they came to her house.

"Well, this is where I live." She said. It felt kind of awkward, like the end of a date. It was strange to think that in the space of fifteen minutes a human Niklaus had bared more of his soul than Klaus ever had in the time they'd known each other. All he'd done, apart from a few brief moments of humanity, was try and kill her twice. "Thank you for walking me home."

"My brother was very touched by your actions. He would have killed me if I let any harm come to you, so I'm glad we got you back safely." He joked.

"If Elijah was so concerned, surely he would have walked me home himself." Caroline replied.

"He gave me the honor because I almost ran you over, so I needed to make up for that." Klaus said, taking her hand and kissing it gently. "And it was an honor Caroline."

"Thank you." She whispered, opening the door into her home and shutting it after giving him a brief smile. Her mother must have gone out as the house was empty, which Caroline appreciated because a moment alone was much needed. "What the hell just happened?"

With a house and probably a hundred paces between her and Klaus at that point, she was able to think a little more clearly.

It was hard to be touched by someone when you could only picture them at their worst.


	4. 10th Century: What Happens By The Fire

**Here is the next chapter! I've received some really lovely reviews for this story so far, so it makes me incredibly motivated to keep writing and updating quickly, so thank you everyone for the response. As promise, this chapter is much longer than the previous one and I think you Klaroline fans will really enjoy it ;)**

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AyaMae91 - Your review seriously made my day. It was so lovely. Thank you so much for your kind words and I hope you like this chapter.  
_ - I'm glad you love my story. Thank you for the review and please enjoy :)  
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_The Hunger Games - My Life - Glad you liked the Klaroline in the previous chapter :) I do plan to mention Tatia soon, however I haven't yet decided if she'll make an actual appearance in the story._

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Chapter 4: What Happens By The Fire

Two days went past with little happening; nowhere near enough to consider them memorable. Four days had passed since Caroline had been pulled from Mystic Falls. It was the fifth day and according to what Esther had told her, it was nine days until the Mikaelsons were turned into Vampires.

Her encounter with Klaus had left her a little confused over the whole thing, but with the day of their transformation drawing closer, Caroline had been spending every waking hour thinking about the task at hand.

Some part of her, every time that she went to sleep, was praying that she would wake back up in Mystic Falls. She dreamt of the small town, of Tyler, Elena and Bonnie and all the things she was longing for, but they never became a reality. That same part of her that wanted to wake back up there was also wondering if everything about Mystic Falls was a dream, and if she had always been here, but she refused to truly believe it.

Night fell on the fifth day when there was a knock on the door. Her mother was in her room so Caroline went to answer it.

She froze at the sight of the person in front of her, having to take several quick breaths to calm herself.

"Caroline?" Kol Mikaelson said in confirmation.

"Yes. I'm Caroline." She replied. Back in Mystic Falls, she hadn't really had a conversation with Kol when he was alive. There were several reasons for that and the most obvious that he was completely insane. Despite that, she remembered feeling a little sorry for him when she covered up his burnt to a crisp corpse in Elena's living room before remembering that a few hours before that he'd tried to cut off Jeremy's arms.

"Pleasure to meet you Caroline. My name is Kol Mikaelson." Kol said with a smile. "My family is hosting a bonfire tonight, in honor of my brother Henrik and to thank the village for their kindness. My brothers Niklaus and Elijah have extended an invitation to you and sent me to escort you, and to make sure you attend. Niklaus is particularly looking forward to seeing you."

"Thank you for the invitation Kol but I-" She was going to say no but Caroline reminded herself that this was no Mystic Falls. She wasn't just the blonde vampire distraction for whenever her friends were planning something that involved killing Klaus. She couldn't actively avoid the Mikaelsons when she had to make up her mind about everything. "I just have to get permission from my mother. I would love to attend."

"I'll wait here." He said, continuing to stand in the doorway.

Caroline hurried into her mother's room.

"A friend was wondering if I could go to a bonfire tonight. It's in the village of course." She said, not mentioning it was the Mikaelsons. Apart from common courtesy, she knew the woman disliked the family.

"Of course. Don't stay out too late." She said.

"Thank you mother."

It was weird to have to ask permission for things. While Liz had cared about things like where she went and stuff, once she knew Caroline was a vampire she hadn't worried too much. For the most cases she was pretty sure that her daughter could hold her own against anything that went bump in the night, considering she was one of those creatures herself.

"I'm fine to go." She said, returning to the front door where Kol was still waiting.

"Perfect." He said, escorting the way. After a few minutes of silence he said, "My brother appears to like you."

"Which one?" She asked.

"Niklaus." Kol replied easily.

"Really? I wouldn't expect that."

"And why would that be?" Kol said with an air of banter.

"He is in mourning. I believe that he is looking for company in a hard time, nothing more." She said carefully, wondering if whatever she said to Kol would be passed onto Klaus. Her experience with the two brothers hadn't left her thinking that they were very close, however they could have grown apart in the time before Caroline knew them, so she really had nothing to go on.

"You are right that he is in mourning. We all are, however that doesn't mean none of us can appreciate the beauty and kind heart of a woman." He spoke casually, yet behind the informal air of his words, she could hear a hint of seduction. It made her uncomfortable because it was that manner of speaking which she was most familiar with from Kol. And at that moment she was nothing more than a human, incapable of truly being able to protect herself from anything.

Then again, he was only human too.

"Well I'm glad that you are able to appreciate such things." She said as they approached a bonfire set up in the village center, with tables of food nearby and logs for seats around the flames. She spotted Klaus amongst the other people, sitting on one of the logs. "Thank you for escorting me here Kol." Caroline added, about to break away from his company. Kol grabbed her arm just as she started to turn away, pulling her back to face him. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Niklaus is still quite upset. The death of our brother has affected him the most out of all of us." Kol whispered in her ear. "If you find that he is not suitable company tonight and are looking for someone more lively, do not hesitate to come find me Caroline." He let her go then and Caroline immediately pulled away from him.

"Don't touch me again or it'll be the last thing you do." She hissed.

Just because she was in some small village, a thousand years in her past in a time before women's rights and things like that, did not mean she was going to let Kol Mikaelson walk all over her.

He smiled. "I'd be more offended if I didn't expect you to come calling. Trust me; I am much better company then my brothers." She hated that he didn't even look the least bit offended, and as much as Caroline wanted to get the last word, she forced herself to walk away, hurrying off to where Klaus was still sitting.

"Caroline. You came." He said, smiling as she sat down beside him. As much as she was conflicted about him, Caroline couldn't help but be happy to see the sadness on his face replaced with a smile that she returned.

"Thank you for the invitation Niklaus. Though I must ask, has your brother always had such terrible manners?" She said, giving a glance over to Kol.

"I knew it was a mistake sending him, however father wouldn't let me leave. Ironic that now father and mother have left this event they started." He said. "What did my brother say to you?"

Caroline debated telling him but decided to be truthful.

"He said that your company wouldn't be sufficient enough for me tonight due to recent events. He was quick to also tell me that he would be able to entertain me in the event that I found myself bored with you."

Klaus gave a brief laugh. "His manner of speaking has always been like that. And in regards to his comments about my company, tonight isn't about being sad. It's a celebration of my brother's life so I can promise you my company won't be completely depressing tonight. In fact I can be quite charming if required." He said, looking right into her eyes.

"So does that mean you'll be able to entertain me tonight?"

"Well consider father and mother have left that would make me one of the hosts, so it could be considered my job."

She feigned being offended. "So keeping me company is nothing more than a job?"

"Trust me. It is not work to keep you entertained tonight." Klaus said. "I will do that because I want to spend time with you."

"I hope it's for a more genuine reason than your brother." Caroline laughed.

"Trust me." He said again. "I have no hidden intentions. I simply want to get to know you."

She wondered if that was true. The Klaus she knew was full of hidden intentions. There was only ever one moment that she believed that he didn't have an ulterior motive; the day after the Mikaelson family ball when Klaus followed her out of the bar where he had been with Kol and showed genuine interest in getting to know her. The ironic thing about that night was that Caroline had been the one with the ulterior motive then, which was distracting Klaus so that Alaric could dagger Kol.

If the Klaus in front of her was the one that she knew, he'd have been highly suspicious by that point, probably looking over his shoulder to see if someone was going to come running at him with the white oak stake.

It felt almost good to not be the distraction for once.

"What do you want to know, Klaus?" She said, not even realizing her shortening of his name. She'd been careful to call him Niklaus, his true name and the name that he went by at that time, but she stuffed up.

"Klaus?" He looked confused.

"I'm sorry. It just slipped out." She muttered.

"No it is okay." He said, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "If Niklaus is too much, you can always call me Nik."

She looked at him, a little surprise. She had only ever heard Kol and Rebekah call him Nik and despite the fact that he had been in love with her, he'd never offered to let her call him that.

"Is that not too personal?" She said, almost hoping that he would turn around and change his mind.

"No, it is quite fine." Klaus replied. "Is there something other than Caroline that you would like to be called?"

The words slipped out of her mouth before she could filter them, let alone actually think about what she was saying. "You can call me Care, Nik."

He smiled.

"Care? Where did that come from? My little sister is the one who calls me Nik. What about you?"

"A friend once called me that." Matt had been the first one to call her Care and the nickname had stuck among her friends. She'd always liked it. Caroline considered herself to have a big heart and be one who cared about others, so Care seemed like a very appropriate nickname for her.

"It's a good name for you... Care." He said. Hearing the name roll off his tongue made the situation around her fell much more familiar, however truly crazy it was. It reminded her of her friends, of home.

"Thank you Nik." Caroline replied.

A natural silence fell over them as the bonfire continued around them. People were eating the food, talking and laughing, but Caroline and Nik just sat there, watching the fire.

"It is my fault you know." He said, breaking the silence.

"What is?"

"My brother. It's my fault that Henrik is dead. I encouraged him to come with me to see the men turn into wolves. I knew that it was not safe. I should never have asked him to go, and I should never have gone myself." Nik whispered. Caroline turned to look at him, surprise to see tear tracks down his cheeks, the light of the fire highlighting them on his skin. Her heart went out to him. After a moments consideration she edged closer to him and took one of his hands that was resting on his knee, balled up in a fist.

"It's not your fault Nik. You are right that you shouldn't have gone but it isn't your fault." He looked at her, opening his mouth to protest but she shushed him softly. "It's not your fault." She said again. "You may have encouraged your brother but he was the one who chose to go. You didn't force him."

"All I feel is guilt right now, every time I think of him." He whispered.

"You will. For a while. The guilt won't go away overnight but one day it will become easier to deal with, and that will be when you realize, without me or anyone else having to tell you, that it really was not your fault. I'm sure you did everything you could have to protect your brother when it became dangerous and I am positive that he knows that." She reached out and wiped one of the tears off his face with her thumb. He didn't say anything but she hoped her words had been of some comfort to him.

There were many things that were truly the fault of Niklaus Mikaelson, more than she could count, but the death of his brother was not one of them, at least not in the same way as the atrocities he had carried out.

"Thank you, Care." He whispered.

She barely had time to say "You're welcome" before he kissed her.


	5. 10th Century: Further From The Truth

Chapter 5: Further From The Truth

His lips were soft against hers, holding such a physical gentleness that surprised her and while she was shocked by the action, Caroline returned it, if only for a moment. He reached out his hand, placing it on her cheek as they continued to kiss.

When their lips naturally pulled apart after a minute or so, Caroline returned to reality. She broke his gaze by turning to face the fire. Her mind started to function again and the first thing that came to mind was Tyler.

She hadn't thought about him much since she left Mystic Falls, however kissing Klaus was a sure way to remind Caroline of him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, leaning forward so she could see him. She stood up, not meeting his eyes.

"I need to go. It's late."

"You have not been here for long." He replied. "Are you okay?"

_Why? Why do you have to be so nice? It makes everything so much harder for me, _she thought.

"I'm sorry I… I don't feel very well tonight." Caroline said.

He frowned. "Is it because I kissed you? I did not think my kissing was so bad that it would cause a lady to fall ill." He looked genuinely distressed at the idea of it.

"No it isn't that. I just need to go." Caroline said, turning around the leaving the bonfire. It was so loud, the air full of the sounds of chatter and crackling fire that she was pretty sure no one had noticed, and she wondered if it really mattered if they had.

"Caroline!" Klaus called out, hurrying after you.

_Don't follow after me._

"At least let me escort you home. You are right. It is late." He grabbed her hand, pulling her to a stop.

"No I'm fine. I'm perfectly capable of making it home by myself." She said. The look on his face told her that he wouldn't accept that. "Look, thank you for inviting me tonight. I'm very grateful for that and you were a perfect gentlemen despite all that Kol said to me. But you shouldn't have kissed me. We hardly know each other," _That couldn't be further from the truth, _"and you're brother has just died. You can't possibly be in the right frame of mind about these things."

Klaus opened his mouth as if he were going to say something but quickly closed it again. Caroline took that as he cue to leave.

"Thank you again for the night." She said, turning away without being followed.

"Caroline?"

"Yes mother?" She hurried out of her room into the main part of the house as her mother called her.

"Could you please go to the well and grab some water?" Her mother asked, handing her their water bucket. The well was about a two kilometer walk from the house. It wasn't an ideal distance but beggars couldn't be choosers when it came to something necessary to life.

"I'll go straight away." She said, taking the bucket and heading outside into the day. It was fairly early in the morning, about an hour after the sunrise that woke Caroline every day. She missed having an alarm clock so she could chose the time she was getting up.

There were a lot of things she missed about the twenty first century that she pondered as she walked.

Cell phones and the internet were the most obvious.

Then there was electricity. She'd never had to really live without it before and it bothered her greatly at first. She kept several candles in her bedchamber and lived in fear that she was going to burn that place down if she knocked one. Ever since she became human again, Caroline had been highly aware of everything that she couldn't do, and one of those things was catch a candle at vampire speed if she happened to knock one over.

"Think positive Caroline." She whispered to herself. It wasn't the right time to wallow in the fact that she was no longer a vampire. Not being one could pave way to things she could never have had… like children.

It didn't really take that long to reach the well. The journey back was the more difficult of the two because she would be carrying the water, another thing that would be simple as a vampire. That and the fact that the journey would be much quicker because she could run with little effort.

There was already someone at the well who glanced up briefly when Caroline approached, giving her a quick once over before looking down at the water. A second later her head shot up again.

"I saw you with my brother the other night. He has told me about you." Rebekah Mikaelson said. Back in Mystic Falls when Rebekah was a thousand year old Original vampire, they hadn't got on quite well, though their relationship had developed somewhat, mostly due to the fact that the blonde vampire had decided to spend her immortal life being a better person than she had in the thousand years beforehand. One of their last encounters was when Rebekah had snapped her out of a trance caused by Silas before Caroline could cut off her hands. Granted she had slapped her across the face to do it, but it was slightly less violent then when Rebekah snapped her neck the time they first met.

"Has he?" Caroline didn't really know what to say about that. She stepped forward and placed her bucket at the side of the well, waiting for Rebekah to finish drawing her water. When the original realized she was waiting she hurried to continue but still talked in the process.

"Yes he did. He was upset last night at how quickly you rushed off. It was very confusing for him." Rebekah said. "You should know that my brother has been through a lot recently."

"I'm sorry about Henrik." Caroline said.

It seemed like all she had achieved in her time there was to apologize constantly about the death of Henrik to various members of the Original family.

"That's not all." She said. "I expect my brother has not told you this, and I do not know if he will appreciate me repeating it, but you should know."

"Know about what?"

"About Tatia, a girl from this village."

Tatia. The name was _very _familiar to Caroline. The original doppelgänger. Stefan had told her the story of Tatia once, just after most of the original family had been undaggered by Elijah. Both Elijah and Klaus had fallen in love with her even though she'd had a child and at some point Esther took her to end their feuding. It must have been some time ago, she surmised, because Elijah and Klaus had both seemed okay in each other's company when she first met them.

Stefan had also mentioned that it was the blood of Tatia that was used to turn the family into vampires, and Caroline assumed it must have played a part in the hybrid curse placed on Klaus because the doppelgängers came about as a way of undoing the spell.

"He has not mentioned her to me." She said carefully, wondering if there would be anymore that Rebekah would tell her that she wasn't already aware of.

"Tatia had a child to another man who left her, but she was a very well loved girl in our village so this did not stop men asking for her hand. My brothers Niklaus and Elijah were also in love with her, along with many others, but she seemed to be most attracted to them. She could not decide between them however and led my brothers on for some time, hurting both of them." She said, looking carefully at Caroline. "I love my brothers. I do not like to see them hurt. Tatia caused them to feud amongst themselves. My mother asked her to choose one of them and when she could not, my mother took Tatia and sent her away so that my brothers would no longer be hurt by her."

If Tatia was used as part of the ritual to create the vampires, Caroline could only assume that Esther hadn't actually sent her away. She had to be keeping the girl around.

"Elijah and Niklaus have only recently been able to repair their relationship. From what my brother has told me, he is fond of you." Rebekah continued. She stared at Caroline, as if expecting some kind of response. "I saw what happened last night and I don't want you upsetting my brother. He has only recently been able to heal from the pain of Tatia and he is still mourning over Henrik."

"He isn't thinking straight because of it all. He can't feel anything for me after a few days."

"That is where you are wrong. You must mean something to him because he has not looked at a girl like he looks at you since Tatia because he loved her so dearly." Rebekah said, a fire in her voice that Caroline rarely heard from her. She felt like she was on the receiving end of the lectures that she was usually the one giving out.

"And because you mean something to him I will tell you this now. Do not hurt my brother. He already has so much pain in your life and I will not let you create anymore hardships for him or it will be the last thing you do."

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**I hope you guys are having a good day :) Did you all enjoy the new Originals episode? I was so excited to watch it and it was pretty awesome! Thank you for the responses from the previous chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed this one too. I know at the moment that a lot of the story is all talk, but there will be some serious action coming up soon. The building of the relationships between Caroline and the Original family are essential for how things will continue though so bare with me. Marianna xxx  
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	6. 10th Century: Until We Find A Way

**Here is chapter six everyone. Things will really start to pick up between here and Chapter 10, which will be a big one :) Your responses to this story have been astounding and it's why I work to update everyday, because you guys have been enjoying this so much! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and the next TVD episode which will air before I update tomorrow. Marianna xx**

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Chapter 6: Until We Find a Way

"Is there another?" Rebekah asked carefully as the two walked slowly back to the village, buckets of water at their sides. Caroline looked over at her, not replying. "You seem very reluctant to even consider the possibility of something with my brother, despite the performance you two put on last night at the fire. Is there someone else that you are thinking of instead of him?"

_"This isn't goodbye." _

The one thing she'd truly been avoiding in her time there was thinking of Tyler. Sure, he appeared in her thoughts quite often, but she hadn't really given herself the opportunity to think about what the fact that she was in the past, a thousand years before his time, really meant.

Caroline wasn't sure it was something that she actually wanted to think about yet, let alone talk to Rebekah about it, but she knew that she would have to face the truth of the situation eventually.

She already knew how it would work up subconsciously, which was precisely why she kept pushing down into the back of her mind, avoiding the truth that she knew with absolute certainty.

_"This is... until we find a way." _

"There was someone." She said to Rebekah, not actually looking at her. Instead Caroline focused her gaze on the trees around her, the sky and sun above her and the grass under her feet. It was better than looking at the girl beside her, a walking reminder of the life she'd been pulled from, one that she might never be able to return to.

And if she did return to it, it would never be the same.

"But he's not around anymore." Caroline added.

"Is he dead?"

"No. But he left." She replied.

It was sort of true. Technically she was the one who'd left but countless times before that, Tyler had left her. And when he'd been given the opportunity to come back to Mystic Falls, even when she'd enrolled him in college, he'd shown little interest in returning even for her, despite the fact that they had been given a way to be together.

"I am sorry." Rebekah said.

"It's okay. You should know though, in a way, I can understand the situation between your brother and Tatia a little more than you may think I can."

_"We're immortal, remember?" _

"Then I'm sure you can also understand why I worry about my brother, and why I do not want him to hurt anymore. The pain of love can last a life time." Rebekah said. Caroline thought of her fate if she was to become a vampire, living a thousand years loving so many people unconditionally, being loved back, and having it all destroyed by her brother countless times throughout the centuries to the point where, as she said herself, that she just stopped falling in love. And yet throughout all that, Rebekah still continued to love her brother, even if she tried to deny it over and over again, they just kept coming back to each other.

"That it can." Caroline replied as they reached the village. They were near the Mikaelsons home so Caroline broke away from Rebekah but the girl stopped her.

"Wait." She said, touching her arm gently to get Caroline to stop. "I am sorry if I sounded too harsh before. I hope you can understand what I was saying and that I have not scared you off."

"No it's fine. I was just a little shocked because I'm usually the one doing the lecturing." Caroline laughed slightly. Rebekah watched her for a moment, a curious expression in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" She asked, her expression peculiar.

Caroline frowned. "Yes. I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Rebekah dropped her hand from Caroline's arm, looking down at the ground for a moment.

"It is just… I get a feeling about you, like you are not okay at the moment." She shifted her weight from foot to foot, looking uncomfortable at the turn of the conversation even though she was the one to pursue it. "I do not know how to explain in Caroline, but I feel like something has changed a lot in you, like you are not the person you could be right now."

Rebekah wasn't the only one uncomfortable by that point. Her words hit pretty close to home for Caroline, who joined her in the act of shifting around awkwardly on her feet.

"I must go. I'm to help mother with the morning meal and my brothers will be hungry." Rebekah said, leaving Caroline standing there as she hurried into her house.

She remembered what Esther had said, that Rebekah would have been a witch if she hadn't been a vampire. When Bonnie had first started to come into her powers, she had been able to sense things too, like Rebekah just moments before. As Caroline walked back to her home, she thought about what Rebekah had picked up on. Without a doubt, she was not alright at the moment. Everything had changed in the blink of an eye and Caroline was completely confused about everything in her life at the moment. That must have been what Rebekah had picked up on, however Caroline had no idea what to make of one of the things she'd said.

_"I feel like something had changed a lot in you, like you are not the person you could be right now." _

When she thought about Rebekah's words deeply, Caroline knew that they were very true. Once she got past the bloodlust and the longing to murder innocent people, Caroline had considered herself to be the best person she could be when she was a vampire. While she had been insecure as a human, the better parts of her personality had come through when she completed the transition.

While she didn't feel insecure about herself, she wondered if some of the better parts of her had gone when she became human again. She had not achieved much in her time there, except for being confused over guys.

That was the kind of Caroline she had tried to leave behind and she was letting it all back in.

"Get it together Caroline." She whispered. She couldn't be the same outspoken Caroline that she had been in Mystic Falls, because she would stand out too much in the time she lived in, however that didn't mean she had to be ridiculously human like she had been being.

She had been given a task by Esther. She had to take control of the situation she was in and make up her mind once and for all about what course of action she would take.

* * *

_The dream she was in was much more realistic than usual, so much more detailed. When Esther appeared in front of her, it was pretty obvious why._

_"You've done little to change what is coming, Caroline." Esther said._

_"Why am I here? Isn't there some kind of limit to how much you can screw with my life?" They were inside her house this time, seated across each other at the table, as if they were about to have a civilised discussion. Well, that's probably what Esther had intended but Caroline had no intention of remaining civilised. All she'd done the last few days was be civilised so as to not stand out and it hadn't exactly got her anywhere with anything._

_"I'm not screwing, as you say, with your life." Her voice was ever so clam._

_Caroline stood up. "Seriously. What did you actually expect to happen by sending me here? Did you think I would immediately embrace the idea of getting rid of vampires? I was a vampire and I liked being one. I liked being a vampire more than I ever enjoyed being human. I didn't know that until after I was turned but I would never have gone back to being a human after that. I hate you for bringing me back to this state. I could stand aside, let vampires be created and then get Klaus to turn me and I'll be back to what I want to be."_

_"You won't do that." Esther replied, standing so that she was once again taller than Caroline, asserting her superiority in the situation._

_"And why not?"_

_"Because, by turning you back into a human, I've given you the one thing you could never have as a vampire."_

_"And what would that be?" Caroline hissed, annoyed that Esther was acting like she knew everything about her._

_"The life you always wanted." She said, as if this was obvious. "The opportunity to have children and a family, something I'm sure you always wanted. I've watched you from the other side. You care about your friends more than you care about yourself. You look after them like a mother would her children. You cannot tell me that it's not something you desire."_

_Caroline had no idea what to say to that, and she sunk back down into her chair as she considered it, though Esther remained standing._

_"Think about it Caroline. You always hated what Niklaus was as a vampire, as a hybrid but you can't deny you like him as a human. You could be with him, love him and have a family with him."_

_"No I couldn't. You ripped me away from the guy I loved."_

_"If you're talking about Tyler Lockwood, don't forget what I said before." Esther said. "You could be with Niklaus and then, when you die and fulfil your purpose in this time, you could live out your life again in Mystic Falls, with Tyler if you wish. You could be with both of them. Yes you loved Tyler, but I know that you are not without feelings for my son. You love him too."_

_"No I don't." Caroline snapped. "I didn't love him then and I don't love him now, even though he is much kinder as a human."_

_"That is where you are wrong. If you did not love Niklaus, did not have feeling for him that came from the time you knew him in the twenty first century… you would not have let him kiss you and you would not have kissed him back."_

_It was extremely awkward to be talking to the original witch about making out with her son, but the worst part of that was that Caroline could not think of any way to deny it. _

_"You have two choices Caroline. You can prevent the creation of vampires like I intend for you to do, and you can help Niklaus keep his humanity and live out a good life. Or, you can stand back and let me change them, but he will fall apart and become the monster that destroyed the lives of your friends, and I will make sure that you spend eternity watching it happen." Esther said. "There is only one right option Caroline and if you choose wrong, the blood of thousands will be on your hands."_


	7. 10th Century: The Ritual

**Hi everyone! I am so sorry it has taken this long to update but I got caught up with University exams, however that's all over now which means regular updates again. As proof of my repentance for my lack of writing, here are two chapters for you. Marianna xx**

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Chapter 7: The Ritual

_"That is where you are wrong. If you did not love Niklaus, did not have feelings for him that came from the time that you knew him in the twenty first century… you would not have let him kiss you and you would not have kissed him back."_

_It was extremely awkward to be talking to the original witch about making out with her son, but the worst part of that was that Caroline could not think of any way to deny it. _

_"You have two choices Caroline. You can prevent the creation of vampires like I intend for you to do, and you can help Niklaus keep his humanity and live out a good life. Or, you can stand back and let me change them into vampires, but he will fall apart and become the monster that destroyed the lives of your friends, and I will make sure that you spend eternity watching it happen." Esther said. "There is only one right option Caroline and if you choose wrong, the blood of thousands will be on your hands."_

Something to do with Esther appearing constantly in her dreams and making threats actually put her off pursuing the task she had unwillingly been given. It didn't help that probably the only way she could stop the ritual was to kill Esther with her own two hands, but the original witch was hardly ever to be seen around the village. Neither was her husband Mikael and Caroline hadn't actually seen Niklaus, Rebekah, Elijah or Kol since the last times that she interacted with them. Finn she was yet to see in the tenth century at all.

So instead of bursting into their home and running at Esther with a dagger, she absorbed herself in the life that her tenth century counterpart lived in the hopes that one day she would wake back up in the twenty first century and that this would all be a bad dream. She let time pass her by to the point where she lost track of how many days there was until Esther turned her family and she tried to tell herself that she was content with that.

She couldn't deny that she had thought about letting them be turned and then asking one of them, probably Niklaus, to turn her into a vampire himself, back into the thing she wanted to be, not the human she was. Which is why Caroline still, even having spoken to Esther about her reasoning, couldn't actually understand the motivation behind the plan of the original witch. It was like there was one big hole in the plan that Esther could see, but chose to ignore, and Caroline wondered if Esther even expected the thing to go down as she wanted.

Basically, she had no clue what the witch was thinking, and wasn't willing to kill her to end the creation of vampires.

"Caroline, could you please go fetch some water? I am afraid we have run out and I do need it."

"It is late mother. Are you sure it can't wait until morning?" Caroline complained, not really in the mood to go fetch water after dark. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of being mauled to death by an animal that stalked the area when the humans were quiet.

"Caroline." Her mother said forcibly, indicating that there was no argument in the question.

"Fine." She said, standing up and grabbing the bucket. "I'll go."

In addition to being dark that night, it was also cold and Caroline was annoyed that she couldn't wrap her arms around herself in a comfortable manner while holding her bucket. Her breath was visible in the air in front of her, another reason why she wished that it could wait until morning. She didn't know what her mother needed the water for and she didn't really care, hence why she was irked by the sudden desire for it.

"Ayana. Please come in." She heard Mikael greet the witch, as she walked past where the original family lived. Caroline knew better than to stop walking but she strained to hear the conversation as she continued walking away, much slowly.

"I know what you have called me here about and I'm telling you that I want no part in it." The witch said, walking into the house.

"Please, we require your help. You must give us time to explain." Esther said before the door closed and Caroline could hear no more. She stopped, wondering if what was happening was what she actually thought it was. After a moment of deliberation, Caroline turned around the quietly heading back to their house, walking around the back before she edged to the door quietly. There was a group of bushes near the door on her side and she crawled up to them, positioning herself so that she could hear through the cracks in the door and window but not be seen. If she remained quiet, her presence should go unnoticed.

"Please Ayana, I implore you." Esther, Mikael and the witch Ayana stood in the centre of their cabin. Caroline could hear the desperation that filled the voice of the Original Witch, and for a moment she was able to forget everything bad that had come from Esther's choice, remembering that in reality, she was just a mother who wanted to protect her children and nothing more. It was sad how evil could come from a love so pure, a desire to keep a family together and alive against all the odds of time against them. "You must call upon the spirits before the next full moon."

"I will not. It is a crime against nature." Ayana said firmly, as if there was nothing else to it. Caroline knew that Ayana was an ancestor to Bonnie, and she could hear the voice of Sheila Bennett in her. While Bonnie had strayed from the path set out by the spirits, Sheila had always tried to follow the laws of nature, and it seemed that this obedience had been passed down for centuries through the Bennett bloodline, starting from Ayana or even before that.

"Ayana, we have already lost too much. We cannot lose anymore." Esther sounded close to tears, the saddest that Caroline had actually seen any of the Original family in relation to the death of their youngest brother. However, when she considered it, it was possible that all of them had been guarded in their human life too, something that may have been enhanced when they became vampires. Elijah and Niklaus, while they felt and while they had the ability to grieve, they had always hidden their emotions in the time Caroline had known them.

She had been slightly put off by their lack of obvious sadness when she had met them in this time, but perhaps that really was just them as humans, distracting themselves from their grief by immersing themselves in the company of others. Even Kol, who may have been sad, seemed willing to use sex and women as a distraction from his emotions. Rebekah, the most emotional of all the Originals, had been broken, but perhaps just unwilling to show it around other people. Caroline wondered if Esther wasn't in the presences of her husband and mentor, if she would be like her children, hiding her grief behind polite conversation. When Esther continued, Caroline snapped out of her thoughts, listening to the conversation once more. "The spirits can help us find a way to protect our children."

She heard Mikael move around the cabin, placing a hand on Esther. "Everything could be heightened. Our family could live forever." A question appeared in her mind, the wonder if Mikael desired this immortality only for his children, of if he had been seeking it out for his own benefits.

In Caroline's' world, he had had a miserable existence, consumed by hate for Niklaus, a bastard. It had been that hate that drove him for one thousand years. It seemed unlikely that he could ever have really enjoyed being immortal, if only using his existence to hunt down his children and try to kill Niklaus.

"At what cost? This magic you speak of breeds consequence. This is the makings of a plague, Esther." There was a pause before Ayana continued. "The spirits will turn on you."

"Please, Ayana." Esther whispered.

Caroline could hear Ayana walk towards the door and she checked that she was still out of sight. "I will have no part in it." The witch left, Mikael closing the cabin door behind her immediately, obviously to protect their conversation.

"If they will not protect our family, then it is in your hands alone my love." Mikael said. He almost sounded loving then, but Caroline could not shake the image in her head of the Mikael she knew form modern times and the sound of his voice so gentle did nothing but make her shudder.

"We must do it tonight." She said. "I cannot lose anything else, Mikael."

"What do you need?"

"I will need the blood of the girl, the doppelgänger. The rest is simply power that I can draw upon." Esther replied. Caroline realized that she was referring to Tatia. She remembered that Esther had taken Tatia to end the feud between Niklaus and Elijah, but perhaps it was also because of her blood. Keeping her hidden would keep her alive and Esther would have her blood available in abundance for the rituals. Thinking back to more details, Caroline knew that Tatia would remain alive and donate more of her blood for the ritual that placed the Hybrid Curse on Niklaus but apart from that, she had no idea what the girls fate would be.

If the sacrifice of the doppelganger, Elena, was needed to undo the curse, she imagined the Tatia was required to die to place the curse on Niklaus originally. But the wellbeing of Tatia was not her concern, at least not at the moment, though Caroline was unsure if it would ever be.

"I will retrieve the blood." Mikael said, once again moving towards the door. Though Ayana had walked passed her without finding her, Caroline was more terrified of Mikael then she was of the witch and she hurriedly scooted around the side of the house until she was far away from the door, and she could no longer hear the conversation.

"What are you doing?" A familiar voice hissed and she turned to see Rebekah, dressed in white bed clothes appear beside her, having run around the house from the other side where she too had been listening into the conversation between Ayana and her parents.

"I…" Caroline didn't know how to reply to that so she swallowed her excuses and decided on the truth. "I was worried about what your mother might be doing. I got a bad feeling so I listened in on their conversation."

Rebekah's' eyes narrowed.

"Mother is only trying to protect us. If she can do a spell to keep us safe, than I will not stand in her way of doing so."

"I think it will be more than a simple spell. It's dark magic." She didn't want to come right out and say that she knew what they would become. Caroline was no fool. She knew that there was no way Rebekah would believe her.

"If you care for my brother, then do not stand in the way of this if it is to ensure his longevity." Rebekah said, standing up and moving away from Caroline, obviously read to head back into the house.

"Rebekah!" She called out but the girl ignored her, much like she had in the modern ages, and retreated back into the house.

It was at that point Caroline realized she had made up her mind to stop the ritual. She hadn't made a conscious decision before that moment but if she did stop it, Niklaus could stay the sweet human that he was. Rebekah could find love without having him destroy it and they could be the family that they always wanted to be. It would impact on her future, yes, but she simply had to accept that she was in the 10th century, not the 21st and that she needed to focus on the now. Not the past or the future that she had experienced most of her life in.

She snuck away from the house, quickly, in hopes that Rebekah would not betray her to Esther. Determined, she went to find Niklaus, in hopes that if she kept him away from the ritual then it would not go ahead. Esther would not settle for only turning half of her family into vampires and if she still did change them, Caroline would only have to get to the White Oak Tree before them, to ensure that if the future did continue on the same past as her history, she could change it another way. The human Niklaus was so kind and loving that her decision did rest on the fact that Caroline did not want to see him become what he had become in the time she knew him.

She had seen glimpses of the human Niklaus, but his personality for the most part had been corrupted by the time of his existence and the destruction of his family, mostly at his own hand.

She believed that if he was loved, he would not turn into the person he was, and if she could keep him human, perhaps she could love him the way he had always deserved.

"Caroline?" She has been so caught up in her thoughts that she had almost missed him, despite her goal of finding him, when he was coming out of the forest.

"Niklaus!" She hurried towards him. "Thank god you are still here."

His expression was one of confusion as he ran his eyes over her dishevelled appearance. She had been running in her search for him, knowing that she did not have much time. "What is the matter?"

"Your mother." She said. "She is planning something with dark magic, to use on your family. I came to warn you." If she could convince him not to go home, she would be one step closer to keeping the world free from the suffering that came with vampires. It was difficult though, because in the back of her mind she kept thinking about the fact that she would never be able to become a vampire again if she followed this course of action. But she reassured herself knowing that the person she was when she was a vampire was the person she was now, and that she did not need to go back to the insecure human she once was.

"I don't understand." He said.

She opened her mouth to explain but a sharp voice interrupted her.

"Niklaus!" Mikael yelled through the village, coming towards them. Niklaus looked up at his father and while torn for a moment, separated himself from Caroline.

"Father."

"I need you to go home. It is late boy." Mikael said. Niklaus hovered, looking back at her, but in his eyes Caroline could see the fear he had for his father and knew that he had already won. "Forget the girl! Go, now!"

"I'm sorry Caroline." He said, turning and hurrying off towards the Mikaelson home, leaving Caroline with Mikael. She wanted to hurry after him and stop him but Mikael's presence prevented that if she wanted to leave with her life, leaving her town about what to do.

"You think that you did not go unnoticed girl?" Mikael hissed and Caroline snapped back to look at him. Hearing his words, she hurried to leave but he grabbed her wrist, stopping her from moving. Before she could do anything else, something hard smashed into the back of her head and everything went black.


	8. 10th Century: The Second Time

Chapter 8: The Second Time

When Caroline came to, she was on the floor of a cave. It was freezing cold and the insane amount of darkness told her that it was night. Her head was throbbing where Mikael had hit her and when she touched the spot she could feel dried blood.

"Girl!" A voice boomed through the cave. His footsteps were as loud as his voice, very deliberate as though he could see exactly where he was going in the dark. Mikael grabbed her arm, yanking her up off the ground and would have dragged her out if she hadn't stood up. "Come on. We don't have all night."

She tried to fight him off but the strength of the hand holding her was too much for her and that was enough to tell her what had happened.

Esther had cast the spell.

Mikael had completed the transition and was now an Original vampire. That would mean that the rest of the Mikaelsons were either vampires already, or in transition.

Their speed picked up, to a speed that she was familiar with travelling at but not being a passenger of. Seconds later they were at the mouth of the cave and Caroline's eyes began to adjust to the light provide by the moon. Mikael stepped in front of her.

"Be quiet. Do not make a sound." He said, his pupils dilating as he spoke.

Compulsion.

_How could I be so stupid? I should have been on vervain, _she yelled at herself. Vervain grew at the foot of the great white oak tree which was why it was a poison to vampires. She should have been taking it incase this happened.

Mikael grabbed her again, shoving her until they reached his house. Through the window she could see Klaus and Rebekah on the floor, blood staining their clothes. Behind them, the forms of Elijah, Kol and Finn were still… dead.

Esther was nowhere to be seen in the house.

"Bekah?" She heard Klaus whisper.

"Blood? What happened?" Both their voices were weak, an effect of the transition they were in.

"It will be alright. It will be alright." Klaus said to comfort her, and probably himself as well. Mikael shoved the door open at that point, pushing her in front of him. The brother and sister looked up at her, Klaus's eye widening as her saw her. She thought back to her failed attempt at warning him before and wondered if he understood it now, along with Rebekah. Though she had come to the conclusion that she was kidding herself if she said that she had actually tried to stop them. She really hadn't, not until the last moment and even that had been a pathetic attempt, laced with her desire to still become a vampire and not give up the parts of it that she had come to appreciate.

Of course, it did not seem like that would happen.

She knew why Mikael had brought her there. He would use her blood to awaken his children into vampires.

"What are you doing?" He asked his father, his voice dark as he spoke. "Caroline?"

Mikael had compelled her to not make a sound so she could not reply, though she desperately wanted to say something, to comfort him. He was scared. Both of them were.

"We must finish what we started." Mikael shoved her towards them. "You have to drink if you want to live." Mikael pulled a knife across her wrist. Under his compulsion, she was unable to resist. He held her arm out, blood pouring onto the floor, to Rebekah.

"Drink!" He commanded and while Klaus was drawn to her blood as she knew he would be, he tried to push his father off her. Mikael shoved him across the room. Once again he offered her to Rebekah. "Drink!"

For a moment Caroline thought that Rebekah might resist. There was an obvious war waging in her mind but Caroline had experience the pull of blood firsthand and as a vampire in transition, nothing was stronger.

Rebekah stopped thinking and bit into Caroline as her father shoved the blood in her face. It only took a few seconds before her moans changed from shock to relish as she drunk the blood.

She had no idea how much of her blood Rebekah had taken when Mikael shoved her towards Klaus, who looked at his father in disgust.

"No." He shoved at his father, pushing Caroline away in the process.

"Drink boy, or I'll kill you myself." Mikael yelled. He had already turned so his strength was a hundred times greater than Klaus. He grabbed him by the clothes on his back and shoved him towards Caroline, forcing her blood into his mouth, even though Klaus tried to resist it. Once he tasted the blood however, the vampire took over and Caroline knew that he would have no idea who he was drinking from in that moment. It had been a while since she'd experience that bloodlust, but just because she was a human didn't mean that she had lost her understanding of it.

There was a reason that she had chosen to drink from blood bags, and it all came down to the fact that she didn't trust herself to drink from a human without killing them, which exactly what Klaus was doing at that moment, draining her of all her blood without any awareness of his actions.

"I'll get another one." She heard Mikael say as he left the house.

Klaus was still drinking from her when Rebekah lunged at her again, pushing her brother off in the process. Rebekah drunk so deeply that Caroline knew she was going to drain her.

"No." Klaus yelled as he awoke to the fact that Caroline was the one they were drinking from. In all the bloodlust, after he'd tasted her, he'd blacked out as he drunk from her. "Rebekah, stop!" He grabbed his sister by the shoulder and she went flying across the room, landing next to the body of Elijah who was yet to wake up.

"Caroline?" He yelled, shaking her. She looked at him, hardly able to keep her eyes open. The world was already dimming around her, but she fought it by focusing on his face. The veins in his face were prominent, his eyes a dark red and as she watched him they returned to normal. There was no bloodlust, only fear.

"Niklaus..." Rebekah whispered. Caroline could hear her standing up, making a motion with her hands that Caroline couldn't see. She was too weak to move. Damon had drunk from her when she was human but he had never come close to draining her. Her body was giving out, without enough blood to sustain it she knew that she only had mere seconds to live.

Klaus pulled away from her in a rush of movement and was back less than a second later, just as she couldn't help but close her eyes, seconds away from death.

"Caroline. Drink." She felt a warm liquid in her mouth and his hands on her throat, tipping her head up.

The liquid trickled down her throat a moment before her body gave up.

"Caroline?"

For the second time, she died.


End file.
